This is the Vancouver Bird Alert for Saturday, November 17, evening update.

The featured birds are Common Redpoll, Cattle Egret, Tufted Duck,
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Franklin's Gull and Glaucous Gull

Species noted:

Cattle Egret [Delta]
Mute Swan [Richmond]
Tundra Swan [Iona]
Greater White-fronted Goose [Sea Island]
Tufted Duck [Iona RP]
SMEW [Comox]
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper [Iona]
Long-billed Dowitcher [Iona]
Franklin's Gull [Mission]
Glaucous Gull [Iona]
Long-eared Owl [Richmond]
Northern Shrike [Brunswick Point]
Yellow-rumped Warbler [Beach Grove]
Townsend's Warbler [Beach Grove]
White-throated Sparrow [Vancouver]
Western Meadowlark [Brunswick Point]
Common Redpoll [Beach Grove, Richmond, Reifel, Point Roberts]


Sightings for Saturday, November 17:

The Cattle Egret was again seen at Highway 10 and 96th Street in Delta.

The female Tufted Duck was still reported to be in the outer pond at Iona
Island. Also at Iona, a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was in the northeast pond,
along with 12 juvenile Long-billed Dowitchers. A 1st year Glaucous Gull was
seen along the Fraser and 5 Tundra Swans were on the Iona causeway.

Two 1st Winter Franklin's Gulls were at the Ruskin Recreational Site west of
Mission.

Beach Grove in Tsawwassen had a Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warbler, a
Hutton's Vireo and 15 Common Redpolls.

There were other reports of Common Redpolls in the lower mainland in what
looks to be a good year for the usually scarce birds. The highest number was
recorded at the West Dyke in Richmond with a flock of 150 birds. Reifel had
80 birds near the north tower, and Point Robert's had 30. There were 4 at
Blackie Spit and 1at Iona.

Also present on the Richmond West Dyke were 2 Long-eared Owls and a Mute
Swan.

Friday, November 16:

The female Tufted Duck was again seen on the outer pond at Iona Island.

There were 5 Greater White-fronted Geese with Canada Geese past the horse
farm along Ferguson road on Sea Island.

A Northern Shrike and a Western Meadowlark were at Brunswick Point.

Out of town there was a rare bird alert for a Smew, a Eurasian sea duck,
seen just north of Comox on Vancouver Island at Little River in the bay near
the BC ferry terminal, with ferries to Powel River.

Thursday, November 15:

2 Long-eared Owls continued to roost on the West Dyke in the Terra Nova area
of Richmond.

A White-throated Sparrow was seen at a balcony feeder in a high-rise at
Chilco and Nelson in the West End of Vancouver.

END TRANSCRIPT

---ORIGINAL---
John Kalman

Larry Cowan
Port Coquitlam, BC
lawrencecowan at shaw.ca